Strikeforce light heavyweight prospect Lorenz Larkin won’t lie. Getting a new opponent a week before fight time is a big deal.

Most would say the opposite. Nothing fazes them. Everything stays the same. Not so for Larkin.

“As a fighter those type of things are big,” Larkin recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “Not that big if it happens weeks down the road, not too far into camp. But a week notice is a big thing. It’s a big curveball. So yeah, it plays a big effect.”

Larkin (11-0 MMA, 2-0 SF) originally was scheduled to meet Virgil Zwicker (10-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) in the headliner of Strikeforce Challengers 19, which takes place Friday at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The event’s main card airs live on Showtime.

But Zwicker wasn’t to be, and an injury took him out of action. In his place went Nick Rossborough (18-13 MMA, 0-0 SF), a quick flameout on “The Ultimate Fighter 7” who has put together an 11-4 record since the show.

“You hope and pray that they try to match you up around the same type of fighter you were training for,” Larkin said. “But with one week’s notice, you can only do so much. If it was on a smaller show, they just tend to get whoever.

“But on these bigger shows, they don’t want to get this bum for you, so they’ve got to get someone fairly decent.”

While Rossborough’s record suggests more journeyman than prospect, he has the depth of experience that could present problems to Larkin. So when Strikeforce called him with the new opponent, he didn’t jump at first. He weighed his options. You could say the undefeated Larkin is a bit more thoughtful than most. That, or he’s just more honest about protecting his career.

Either way, he’s not the kind of fighter to just jump into a situation.

“I always weigh the positives and negatives,” Larkin said. “I always think about it. When they first told me, I didn’t say yes. I sat down and talked about it.”

Although he doesn’t know much about Rossborough, Larkin feels his skills will carry him through the short-notice fight. But in the future, he wants to make sure he gets back on track fighting guys who will move him up the light-heavyweight ladder.

“I don’t mind competition,” he said. “I like it. That’s the only way you’ll get better. As long as my opponents keep getting better, that’s what I want. I don’t want to backpedal and get a lesser fighter than the last.”

In his most recent appearance, Larkin earned perhaps the biggest win of his career when he outpointed highly touted prospect Gianpiero Villante. Before that, he stopped former K-1 kickboxer Scott Lighty.

Is Rossborough of the caliber that will win Larkin the type of notice that secures him a spot on bigger Strikeforce events? Hard to tell until the event. Rossborough does have career wins over UFC vets Jorge Lopez and Chris Camozzi, so he’s obviously not a pushover.

Larkin just can’t spend much more time thinking about the circumstances surrounding the fight. There’s certainly no time to weigh his options inside the cage. If you’re not fighting, you’re losing.

“I’ll be ready,” he said. “I trained hard and I had a good camp. I feel good about the fight.”

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